Cisco, home appliance makers team up on Internet of Things

At least seven consumer electronics companies are teaming up on an open source framework to help home appliances and electronics communicate. The partnership could pave the way for all of our devices to be smart and connected.

The goal of the AllSeen Alliance, with members Cisco Systems Inc., D-Link, Haier, LG Electronics, Qualcomm, Panasonic and Sharp, is to enable systems to seamlessly connect and interact regardless of which operating system or manufacturer is being used, PCWorld reports. The involved companies will contribute engineering and software resources to the framework, which will allow software developers, manufacturers and service providers to create services and devices that work together.

For example, the framework could let a house system detect that no one is home and shut off the heater. It could also sync up a music-playing device with nearly wireless speakers.

The Internet of Things is a term that involves networking real-world objects together — such as linking your car to your toaster via the Web. Cisco has been a huge proponent of the concept. It launched a new division in late October to focus on the Internet of Things and promote standards that go with it.

Gartner predicts that more than 30 billion objects will be connected by 2020 as products worth more than $100 will be smart.